Businessman and philanthropist Jeffrey T. Fort and Washington University faculty members Kelle H. Moley, MD, and Glenn C. Conroy, PhD, recently were honored with 2017 2nd Century Awards. First bestowed in 1991 as part of the School of Medicine’s centennial celebration, the 2nd Century Awards recognize those whose long-term commitment and participation have made a difference enabling the medical school to enter its second century with strength and confidence.

Jeffrey T. Fort

Fort, the co-owner and co-founder of Motive Creative in Hollywood, Calif., was honored for his generous support of School of Medicine research, specifically within the Department of Opthalmology and Visual Sciences.

Fort established the Jacquelyn E. and Allan E. Kolker, MD, Distinguished Professorship in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences in 2016 to honor the glaucoma specialist’s work and support physician-scientists who share the emeritus professor’s passion for patient care, teaching and research. He also established the Jeffrey T. Fort Innovation Fund within the department to help fund researchers exploring underlying mechanisms of visual diseases such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other blinding conditions.

Motive Creative is a digital production facility that specializes in theatrical trailers and media campaigns. Fort also is principle of Jeffrey T. Fort Investigations, which specializes in forensic work, witness interviews, and expert-witness support.

A St. Louis-area native devoted to public service, Fort also has served as an appointed and elected official in Frontenac, Mo., and is a commissioner for the St. Louis Art Museum, where he served on the building committee that supported a recent $100 million expansion.

Glenn C. Conroy, PhD

Conroy, who retired in June and is now a professor emeritus of anatomy in the Department of Neuroscience and of biological anthropology in Arts & Sciences, is revered at Washington University not only as an accomplished anthropologist, but for his skill and dedication as a teacher. He had taught the Human Anatomy and Development course at the School of Medicine to every single medical student at the university for the past 35 years. He shared the job with his equally esteemed colleague and wife, Jane Phillips-Conroy, PhD, who received the 2nd Century Award in 2008.

Conroy is celebrated as a dynamic educator skilled in conveying the intricacies of the human body and dedicated to laying a solid foundation of knowledge for every student. Medical students have honored him with teaching awards more than 30 times over the years.

He has published numerous scientific articles and two major textbooks. Over his years at the university, he has served on myriad committees related to medical student admissions and education.

He has been honored with a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow Award, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow Award, and election to Phi Beta Kappa and the St. Louis Academy of Sciences. He also is an official nominator
for the MacArthur Foundation Fellows Program and has been recognized by the Czechoslovakian Academy of Science and the Austrian government, among other honors.

Kelle H. Moley, MD

Moley, a renowned reproductive biologist, is one of a handful of people in the world studying how maternal obesity, as well as type 1 and type 2 diabetes, affect reproduction, specifically the process of egg maturation, embryo development and implantation in mouse models.

The James P. Crane Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Moley leads the Center for Reproductive Health Sciences, which brings together faculty to conduct basic, translational and clinical research focused on reproductive health. The center encourages collaboration in research on issues such as the Zika virus and pregnancy, infertility, labor, preterm birth and urinary tract infections. A major focus is on personalized medicine — identifying variations in diseases and developing personalized treatment based on those variations. The center also trains scientists from around the world in obstetrics and gynecology, women’s infectious diseases, and men’s and women’s reproductive health.

Moley also is director of the national Reproductive Scientist Development Program, and is vice chair for basic research and chief
of the Division of Basic Science Research. Further, she is a professor of cell biology and physiology and a member of Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

In 2014, Moley was elected to the National Academy of Medicine; she is the first member of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the second woman currently at Washington University to receive this honor. She serves as a membership committee co-chair for the academy. Among her other honors, she was elected as a scholar of the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2005.

Consistently ranked a top medical school for research, Washington University School of Medicine is also a catalyst in the St. Louis biotech and startup scene. Our community includes recognized innovators in science, medical education, health care policy and global health. We treat our patients and train new leaders in medicine at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, both ranked among the nation’s best hospitals and recognized for excellence in care.